Disappearance of photography mentors

With the internet the small pockets of knowledge that enable an individual to excel at a skill have become just a search and a click away. Everyone has acess to the special skills and years of experience that used to separate the experts in a given field. Instant answers to questions are not always the best way to learn, sometimes hands on experience is better. Art is best learned by doing. Having a mentor can help you learn faster and possibly make you more creative. The place where the most reliable help was tradionally  found was in the local camera store. 

Most were mom and pop stores or sometimes a photo department of a larger store. The salespeople were always up on the latest models and gadgets and the best would have loyal customers. Even something as simple as loading a roll of film was tricky until you ran lots of film through your camera. Nothing beat the excitement of picking up the latest roll back from the developer. Having poorly exposed or out of focus images just seemed to be par for the course.

It was a ritual to go through the images with the salesperson and have them show you what was right and what was wrong with your images. That instant feedback really help you become a better photographer. Going over each one with an expert helped you to learn faster. It wasn't a formal mentorship but it was training the likes that is not seen today. 

Amazon has killed the camera store. They sell cameras for little profit and in many states there is no sales tax. Accessories are there for free shipping. Just wait a day or two and it's on the doorstep. Camera stores turned into showrooms for Amazon. An internet search of your area will back up my claim. Not often will a camera store show up in the results. 

But what I miss is talking to the salesman. Post a photo on the internet to be critiqued and it is loved or torn apart but seldom do you learn why a photo does or does not work. Having someone stand next to you and go over your images with you is an experience that is fading away. Not many of us wish to take the time to get a formal education in photography and with the cost of said education skyrocketing this is not often the best path to follow. Or is it a good return on an investment. For a long time education through a local camera was the accepted way to learn photography. That has sadly ended. 

Decay in the Desert

Desert

Working on a new series of photos about the Desert. The decay in each building is so different that no two are the same. All were photographed with my Leica M (240) with a 35mm Summicron and converted to B & W with Silver Effects Pro 2.0. B & W and the decay just seems like a natural match, although some photos do look nice in color. The Leica has such nice color saturation that I might post some in color. After shooting the At The Pier series so many times it is kinda of a shock to the system to be in the desert. It is so barren that my only company was pigeons and the occasional rumble of a passing car.

Leica or Minolta

Leica and Minolta had a very close partnership at one time. If you took the baseplate off of a Leica R4 and a Minolta XD-11 and put them side by side they looked like brothers. Which is the Leica and which is the Minolta? Hint, the Leica was more expensive.

Leica R4 and Minolta XD-11

The answer is at the following post. Leica Or Minolta Part 2

B&W Street Photography

Walking around, you never know what you might see.

Leica T hands on review

Leica T

The Leica T is a radical departure from any design that Leica has previously produced. It is a next generation camera that will appeal to both the photographer that requires the utmost in quality, which is their loyal customer base, to the generation that expects new and innovative products. Leica positively delivers on both accounts.

At the heart of the camera is an APS-C sized sensor similar to the Leica Vario but with a new image processor. The body, that was designed by AUDI, is milled from a solid block of aluminum. It is a minimalist design that is very stylish and with few controls on the outside to give it a smooth and appealing appearance. From the top all that is visible is the on-off switch that also activates the pop up flash, the two control wheels, a record button, the outline of the pop up flash and the dual function hot shoe. The camera has a smooth feel to it and is lighter than it appears when you first inspect it. The only control on the front is the lens release button. The camera takes lenses that are designed for the Leica T or with an adapter lenses designed for the Leica M series. The back consists of a large 16 x 9 touchscreen that is bright and easy to read. The bottom has a tripod socket and the release for the battery. The battery removal is a two step process. First the latch is slid to the side and the battery drops down but not completely out. With a slight push up on the battery it the slides out of its compartment. There is a hole on the left side of the body for the attachment of a single screw proprietary strap. The right side has a door that reveals the SD card slot. One interesting fact is the the camera has 16 GB of built in memory so the camera can store images without an external card. A number of plastic face plates can be attached to the camera if you wish your camera to have some fashion. They will be available in orange, yellow, white and black. Of course straps are coming to match the colors of the covers. A wrap around rubberized cover is also available to cover the front and rear of the camera. The back cover then hangs down from the back of the camera when taking photos and is out of the way.

The functions of the camera are controlled by a high-res 3.7 touch screen on the back of the camera. Anyone familiar with a smartphone touch screen interface will be instantly at home controlling the Leica T. There are three icons on the right side of the screen. They are the settings menu, the camera functions and the back button.The controls are grouped together by function and you just scroll up and down on the touch screen to find the settings you wish to change. Changing the individual settings is as easy as tapping on the icon and the various settings toggle to the different available settings. If there are more detailed settings to be found the familiar list appears and you can dig deeper into the menu to make the changes. Press the set button to accept and to exit. The home screen can also be customized similar to the Apple iPhone by pressing and holding an icon the dragging it to the camera icon. Reviewing the photos is done in the most unexpected way. There is no dedicated review button. Just drag your finger from bottom to top on the touch screen to enter review mode. Swipe left or right to review photos. Pinch or double tap to zoom then just scroll around with your finger.

The Leica T display

Shooting with the camera is a joy. The camera is well balanced in the had and is smaller that it may appears in advertisements. It is so light that there will be no issue carrying the camera all day. The autofocus is snappy and seemed to lock quickly on all subjects. The sample photos that were available where presented on an iPad mini. Good color balance and well exposed. The camera handled low light and night time exposures very well. It should be stressed that the cameras I were shown had beta software and will ship with the final optimized version. There is an external EVF, using the name Visoflex, available for the camera for shooters that don’t like the zombie camera experience. It had a good refresh rate and the integration with the camera extends to the point that when you change a focus point on the camera this setting extends to the EVF. The EVF also has a diopter as well as GPS built in it so you can geotag your photos. The standard Leica flashes work on the camera when the EVF is removed and retain full compatibility. 

There are two lenses that can be purchased for the camera when it ships in late May. An 18 -56 and a 23mm. On an APS-C that translates to a 28-85 and a 35mm. Leica is also projecting a 55-135 (80-200) and a 11-23 (17-35). Someday there might be a 50mm equivalent with quality that may shock some with the quality. Even some Leica users. I would expect the other lenses to ship at Photokina this fall. As I mentioned you can also use the full range of Leica M lenses with an adapter so I expect the camera will be popular with current Leica shooters as a back up camera. 

Leica is providing a free app for iOS users so that they may control the camera. The app makes it so that you can control and transfer photos to your iPhone or iPad so that they can be saved or shared. The app provides a live view and full control of the camera. Android users will not be left out because an app will allow the images to be sent to the Browser Gallery on an Android device. And as with the purchase of most other Leica cameras a copy of Adobe Lightroom will be made available for download. 

I am hoping to receive a review unit to test the image making capabilities of the camera when it is ready to ship.

The camera is expected to ship at the end of May for $1850.00. The EVF for $595.00. The T adapter for $395.00. The 18-56 for $1750.00 and the 23mm for $1950.00.

What's in my bag

Current Street Kit

Leica Street Kit

LEICA M (240) BLACK

LEICA 35mm SUMMICRON 2.0

LEICA 50mm SUMMICRON 2.0

LEICA 50mm NOCTILUX 1.0

LEICA 90mm TELE-ELMARIT 2.8

LEICA TABLE TOP TRIPOD WITH LARGE BALL HEAD

B+W 60mm NETURAL DENSITY 0.6 FILTER

B+W 39mm NETURAL DENSITY 1.8 FILTER

LEICA BATTERY

THINK TANK PHOTO SD PIXEL POCKET ROCKET

LEXAR 32 GB 400X SD CARD - 3

MOLESKINE NOTEBOOK

LENS PEN

THINK TANK PHOTO CHANGE UP BAG 

UPDATE - Click on the What's in my bag link to see my current equipment.

Leica IIIF Disassembly

The workmanship on these old cameras is so impressive.

Leica IIIF

Leica M (240) Review - Introduction

Leica M (240)

It is a shame that so few people are going to experience the Leica M (240). This is one great camera. I plan on doing a multi-part review on various aspects of this wonderful camera. All the articles will eventually be combined into one post so that it will be a long read. 

The M(240) was released in September 2012 to a lot of excitement. It was in  short supply until the latter half of 2013. When I purchased mine from the Leica store in West Hollywood I had to wait two weeks because I wanted a black model. When shooting film I owned both a black and a chrome M6, I was aware of less people noticing me with the black model. The black model was always loaded with black and white and the chrome of course carried chrome ( Kodachrome 64 ). Since both were always with me I was able to judge peoples reactions to both cameras. Even before everyone became a photographer with the advent of digital, Leica's were less noticeable and not taken as serious as people with larger SLR's.

The M(240) has features that stand out to me that make it a worthy step up from the M9. The sound of the shutter is a feature that is often downplayed. I don't mean that I like it because it sounds cooler, it is because of the quieter and softer sound. Most of my shooting is in close in quiet environments and the earlier digital shutters were just too loud. Many a time I was being discreet and people would look up at the click and whir of the shutter winding. The new shutter is just so much softer. The LED frame lines auto sensing to the light value from the scene is one of those small things that I have wanted for so many years. Having already changed the color of the frame lines so that they were easier to see, I am so thankful for the feature. Battery life is much improved. I can't get the number of shots that I can from my Nikon D3s but considering how much smaller the battery is I am fine with the duration. Since I own a Noctilux the focus peaking feature is a welcome addition. Being raised as an old school type of photographer I am not comfortable shooting with a camera at arms length, but focus peaking does increase the number of keepers with the Noctilux. The 3" LCD is nice and I just don't see it getting much larger on a rangefinder camera. The S2 style menus are easier to look at and to navigate. The power switch seems to have a more positive feel. This is one feature that so many companies that produce smaller body cameras have trouble with. The switch on the Fuji X-Pro 1 is terrible. Still getting used to the thumb wheel and grip. I like the functions they provide, it's just after almost 30 years of Leica use the muscle memory is expecting a different feel under my thumb. People newer to the Leica experience will probably appreciate the feel more that I do. Weather sealed is always a good thing. Oh, the tripod mount is now part of the body not the baseplate.

So far I only have a few nit picks. The body is slightly larger and heavier than previous models. What can I say, I want a digital M6. For me the silver pad on the back is just a little too close to the LCD screen. I would still like a mechanism that cleans the sensor like the high end DSLR's. It's not a negative but I don't care about video capabilities. I have other cameras for that ability. Being able to add an electronic viewfinder will make many happy, I just wish it was a smaller accessory. 

Next time I will delve deeper into the actual functions of the camera and will follow with some shooting.

Full Leica M (240) review

Leica M 3 instruction Manual

The manual for the Nikon D800 is 447 pages. The M3 manual is 1 sheet front and back folded. Says a lot about the changes in photography in the last 60 years. The note that is included is the way that I found it in the M3 box. 

Leica M 3 manual

Leica M 3 manual opened

Leica M 3 manual fully opened

Leica M 3 notice

Leica customer service

A big Thank You to Phillip at the West Hollywood Leica store for his assistance. I had a binocular issue and he got right on the phone and solved my problem quickly and professionally. Thanks again.